I'm sitting here in a quiet house. My balcony door is open so I can listen to the rain and thunder... and the birds singing. It is a soothing sound. It calms my mind and soul.

Yesterday was a much busier day.

As I was helping William to check into the local GED testing facility after dropping Anastasia off at work, I got a call from Natalie's school. She was having loose stools and they wanted me to either bring her more pull-ups or pick her up. I opted to pick her up. Before I had left the GED building, I got another call about Nolan. His leg was bothering him and he was limping. Could I pick him up too?

Finally I left William to test and called the doctor's office on my way to pick up Natalie. I was able to get Nolan an appointment to have his leg checked out. I picked up both kids at two different schools and barely had enough time to take Natalie home and then head back out to take Nolan to the doctor.

On my way to the doctor I was trying to figure out how to juggle picking up William. I didn't think we would be finished at the doctor's office by the time I told William I would get him. But God took care of things. William called me before I got to the doctor so I was able to swing by and pick him up to go to the doctor with us.

The doctor said Nolan's pain is most likely just a pulled muscle but of course my mind wanders to things like arthritis or cancer. (Am I the only Mom that does this?) He wrote a note excusing Nolan from gym for the rest of this week. Hopefully that's all it turns out to be.

P.S.

There are four sections to the GED. William took the math portion yesterday... and PASSED!

Friday, March 24, 2017

William, Sveta, and I went to the oil museum yesterday. It was very interesting and the displays exceeded my expectations. The displays included so much detail into the ways of life some eighty years ago. It was very cool learning about the oil boom in East Texas in the 30's.

William had so many questions.... He thinks we definitely live "better" now. We have such a variety of foods and our tools are so much more modern now, not to mention lighter in weight.

However, it would be cool to drive one of those antique cars.

In one of the buildings is an elevator ride. It gives the illusion that it is descending deep into the earth down to where the oil is.

Thursday, March 23, 2017

I love my children's childlike faith. It is such a beautiful thing when one of them comes up and shares something about how God is working in their life. Maybe not those exact words, but it is obvious that they credit God for the blessings. And they just trust, simple as that. Often times I get caught up in my adult world and fail to have the childlike faith that they have. I wanna go back.

For Spring Break I took some of my boys back to visit with our friends the Lindeques. We had a blast! Alex and Nolan got to feed baby goats. The way the babies gulped down their bottles was so cute. The white milk dribbling down their black, furry chin as they pumped their heads back and forth with each gulp was really exciting to watch. To bad they were done inn like a minute. Oh how I dream of getting more animals for our family but I know there is a lot of work involved in caring for them. Feeding the cats, dogs, and chickens keep us pretty busy already. It's great that my kids got to spend time with other people's animals-- maybe we can just keep doing that. (Wink wink)

We also got to hold baby Chihuahuas. They were so adorable. Even their puppy breath was cute.

It was back in 2008 that we met our good friends the Lindeques. From the moment we met, there was a connection. About six years ago they moved from California to Texas and we hadn't seen them that whole time. We've kept in touch by phone, but finally we got together last week.

Last Saturday morning we got up early to drive to Dallas to pick John up at the airport and to meet my Mom at Hard Eight Barbecue for Alex's birthday before driving on down to their house.

While we packed up the caravan, the kids played outside.

And one of our cats got stuck in a tree.

Fun.

The drive was 4 1/2 hours split up by our stop in Dallas.

The drive was really nice and gave us the chance to explore a completely new area of Texas.

Beautiful.

Once we got to the Lindeques, the fun began. It never stopped, just ask the kids. :)

Their kids are 4, 10, 13, and almost 15. And all of our kids get along great.

Our kids showed their kids how to play Spikeball.

Annalyn and JJ

The Lindeques have lots of animals-- my kids loved looking at them all! Poor Nolan got kicked by a horse, but thankfully it was a gentle kick. Still it scared us all.

Meal times were especially lively. I guess playing hard makes you hungry!

Our friends have a calf ranch that has a big lake on it. So Tina and I stayed back at the house to prepare dinner and catch up on old times while everyone else went fishing.

Dennis caught a huge fish!

Here is a video that John took. John had been fishing and felt a tug so he quickly handed the pole to Dennis. I am pretty sure it was John that was way more excited! I sure love my husband and what a great Dad he is.

I think this game might be called "Pile-Up."

Tina made a little marshmallow cake for Alex.

We had fun riding a zipline. I even I got on it.

My kids were thrilled to ride in the back of the truck. Such simple pleasures... awesome memories.

Tina and I

William is staying with the Lindeques until we go back in a few days to visit them again. He is learning what it is like to work on a farm with calves. It is a wonderful experience that he is enjoying so much!

This visit with our friends was short and sweet but it was just what we all needed. I didn't realize how much I missed my friend Tina. Being with friends, getting away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, and just having the ability to step away from my day to day routine even if just for two days was such a blessing.